Ashland man charged in $1,600 sunglasses theft in Natick

An Ashland man accused of stealing nearly $1,600 worth of sunglasses from a Natick Mall store on Tuesday needs mental help, not jail, his lawyer argued in Natick District Court on Wednesday.

However, Judge Jennifer Stark still ordered Nikolay Roudenko, 29, held without bail, pending a probation violation hearing on May 23.

Natick Police went to the Lord & Taylor at the Natick Mall on Tuesday at 4:35 p.m. after store security said they had detained a shoplifter, according to a police report filed in court on Wednesday.

Security said they watched Roudenko take numerous pairs of women’s sunglasses off the shelf and go into a changing room. Suspicious, one of the security guards followed Roudenko in and saw him cutting the security tags off the sunglasses and then hide them in his sleeves, pockets and socks and leave the dressing room.

Before leaving the store, Roudenko grabbed two more pairs of sunglasses and put them in a bag and left the store before security stopped him, police wrote.

When questioned by police, Roudenko admitted to the theft.

“Roudenko told me that he made a mistake and that he planned on giving the sunglasses to his friends,” police wrote.

In total, Roudenko stole 11 pairs of sunglasses ranging in price from $45 each to $165. The total value was $1,575.

Police charged Roudenko, of 105 Oak St., with larceny of property worth more than $250 and deactivation of a theft detection device.

Prosecutor Francesca Cone asked Stark to hold Roudenko on $500 bail while the probation department asked the judge to hold Roudenko without bail. Roudenko has failed to comply with the terms of his probation of a drunken driving conviction, which included substance abuse treatment.

Roudenko’s lawyer, Kenneth Gross, argued against his client being held.

“I’m not condoning an allegation of theft, but it’s not so much a substance abuse issue as it is a mental health issue,” Gross said.

He said Roudenko should be released to seek mental health treatment.

Stark instead ordered Roudenko held and set $500 bail on the new case.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date crime news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.